


Poor Unfortunate (Constantly Competing) Soul

by Anonymous



Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV), 엔하이픈 | Enhypen
Genre: As per usual nothing makes sense, Gen, I hath been educated. NiKe is superior to JakeKi, Is my Jake bias the size of the empire state? Maybe, No beta we die like men in these trenches, Will I ever stop mentioning K? I don't think so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27286459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The men up there don't like a lot of blabber, they think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yes, on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word. And, after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can. But they dote and swoon and fawn, on a lady who's withdrawn, it's she who holds her tongue who gets her man!Or the one where talking would do wonders, but emoting with words is hard.
Relationships: By now we been knew I am Hoonki trash, Honestly this is heavy OT7 friendship, Park Sunghoon / Nishimura Riki | Ni-Ki
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41
Collections: Anonymous





	Poor Unfortunate (Constantly Competing) Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!  
> Warning : Nothing ahead makes sense!

"Shall we, I don't know... Shake our hand on it?" Sunghoon asks, rolling his shoulders like he's incredibly uncomfortable about it all. He's not. At least, not incredibly. But enough not to be at ease, frankly.

"Sorry, what?" Ni-Ki asks, brows creasing as he looks up from the tablet he's been holding. Since dinner was over he'd been rewatching their individual training cams to spot mistakes. He's got the sharpest eyes when it comes to dancing.

"Shall we like, shake hands on it?" Sunghoon reiterates, his neck disappearing between raised shoulders.

"Shake hands on?" He glances around. Oh yeah. It's the two of them. "Oh." He honestly thought he was alone. And probably owed Jungwon for taking care of his plate Because now it's gone and all that's left on the table is his glass. "Did I miss something?" He asks, brows creasing as his gaze refocuses on Sunghoon.

"No." Sunghoon shakes his head, then brushes the back of it. "Not really. I don't think."

"Then what's the handshake about? Are we, are we gonna develop a personal handshake?" He asks, genuinely curious. Well, he'd never done it before. It could be fun. He shrugs and holds out his right hand to shake.

"Huh." The former ice skater sighs. "You should try with Jake." He clears his throat. "I mean," He rolls his shoulders. Again. Oh that's far too awkward. "sure." His eyes fall shut for a second. "We could give it a shot." He holds out his hand as well, a little put out at the prospect.

Ni-Ki snorts. "Right." Mercifully, he gently shakes Sunghoon's hand. Then frees the other, loosening his grip. "I'll try with Jake." He narrows his eyes, looking up. "It might be funnier with Sunoo though. Like this turn into a iconic 15 seconds choreography kinda thing." He nods a few times, muling over the thought with a certain happiness. "It could be really cool."

"It could." Sunghoon concedes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just hum," The dance prodigy holds a finger up. "why the handshake though? Did I sell away my soul or something? Cos frankly, whether it's Jesus or Satan who takes the wheel it can't be that much worse and sounds a lot like rest. But I'd like to know."

"I don't know if I'm supposed to laugh or ask if you're okay." Sunghoon replies, eyes narrowing as brows crease.

"Depends." Ni-Ki replies. "If you're more of a Jungwon, you ask if I'm okay. If you're more of a Jay you're supposed to say 'mood' and then pat my head. Heeseung hyung will do both within the same day." He clarifies and shrugs.

"Huh." Sunghoon nods. "Fair enough."

Ni-Ki chews on his bottom lip for a second, stealing a couple of glances at the tablet. "So... Is that an instance where you're actively to have a conversation or just to, I don't know..." His head gently sways for a bit. "fill the silence?" He tries. He can work with both. He just has to know whichever it is to know how much of his attention he is supposed to pay to his interlocutor and how much he can indulge to the tablet.

"I don't know." Sunghoon replies, tugging on the sleeves on his sweater to make his fingers disappear, except for the tips. And covers the bottom of his face. "I just figured, you know..."

Ni-Ki nods and sighs softly. He locks the tablet. "I don't know much to be honest. And quite frankly I didn't even know I," He scrunches up his nose, lips pressing into a pout. "I didn't know I felt anything about a couple of hours ago still. So," His gaze travels, aimlessly but unable to hold a fixed point. "I'm not, I don't...." He clears his throat. "I don't wanna date or whatever." He forces out, lowering his head as he speaks a lot faster than purely necessary.

"Oh thank God." Sunghoon whispers out softly. "Me neither." He shakes his head. "It's weird."

"For you too?!" Ni-Ki aks. "I'm so glad. I was afraid this was supposed to change something but let's face it. We're not really close are we?" Sunghoon nods. Because it's true. Simple fact. "How much, do you think, do we like each other like that because we can extrapolate what we don't know yet?"

"He can say extrapolate but claims not to understand lane." Sunghoon mutters, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not the same. One is slang. Slang is hard to grasp." Ni-Ki points out.

"But you do know it's slang." Sunghoon replies.

"Touché." Ni-Ki admits and chuckles. "Listen, I just don't think, we can..." He shakes his head. And finds an echo in Sunghoon.

"No, no. We can't." The older male agrees. "And you're right, there are some chances we only like each other because we know each other less than we know the rest. So it's easy to fill the blanks with what we want."

"Exactly!" Ni-Ki says. "Maybe you're not half as fun as I think you are in my head."

" _Puh-lease._ " Sungoon replies. "I am hilarious."

"Are you? Are you really?" Ni-Ki raises an eyebrow.

"That sounds an awful lot like a challenge." The other replies. "Which I never back down from. But," He holds a finger up. And he can't believe he's about to say that but: "we were having an important conversation here. And we probably should continue that." Whatever that is.

Ni-Ki nods. "Right. So we're not dating?" Sunghoon nods. "Great. Hold on, was that what the handshake was about?" He inquires, his mind slowly putting together the frame pieces that is Sunghoon's puzzle. Thing is, he doesn't even know what the final image is supposed to look like, so it's blinding feeling around, hoping to stumble on pieces that are meant to be assembled. Sunghoon doesn't reply, but his features shift in that mix between uncomfortable and shy expression Ni-Ki only ever saw once before. And it's reply enough. So he snorts. "Wow. Okay." He nods. "Bad with words too, huh?"

"I am perfectly articulate, thank you very much. I just so happen to have no idea what I'm supposed to say." Sunghoon replies.

"Yeah, the translating of emotions into full sentences that make sense is..." Ni-Ki sighs. "Not fun." He settles on, unable to find a more adequate phrasing. Ugh. Feelings.

"And such a waste of time for something that never translate quite right." Sunghoon goes on.

"Right! That's exactly what I keep telling Kei hyung but he insists on like, talking. Apparently you're supposed to get better at it the more you do it, or whatever." He rolls his eyes.

"He has a point though." Sunghoon begrudgingly admits. "If we'd just talked. We would have avoided an awkward dinner."

"And months of frustration over Geometry Dash." Ni-Ki says through gritted teeth.

Sunghoon laughs, hiding his face behind a sweater paw. "Of all the things you could have picked up, what made you go, ah yes, this is it, I'll woo him via Geometry Dash?"

"I wasn't wooing anyone!" Ni-Ki replies. "I just thought it was cool to have your admiration and see that little proud smile you have when I succeed on my own." He explains before running fingers through his hair. "I wanted more attention and you just kept pulling away."

"Yes, because I am garbage at dealing with my feelings too. I thought we'd established that." Sunghoon says ans shrugs.

"At least you knew you had feelings to deal with. I was just yo-yoing between wanting to stick super close to you and wanting to keep out of your way without being able to make sense of it." He huffs, blowing away a couple of strands of hair. "Not super fun."

Sunghoon hums and sighs. "Not super fun." He merely repeats. "I guess we've come to an understanding then." He says. "Let's just try to be better friends, for now." He holds out a hand to shake again. "and see whatever happens with the feelings thing."

Ni-Ki nods. "Being better friends sounds great." He says, taking ahold of the other's hand and gives it a firm shake. "I'm dropping Geometry Dash."

"What? But you're almost done!" Sunghoon argues. "You can't quit now! You've gotten so far!"

"Huh, you probably did like a third of those levels out of frustration. Jungwon a couple too. And Jay quite a bit as well. Really, I did like, a couple here and there." Ni-Ki replies and fishes his phone out. "Do you wanna finish?" The other shakes his head. Ni-Ki nods. "I also think Jake would appreciate if I tagged along Jakehoon a little less. He loves me but he definitely misses you and him."

"Does he?" Sunghoon asks, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes." Ni-Ki replies. "He does. And honestly, I could use time away from my phone screen anyway."

"Clearly." Sunghoon says. "Anyone who genuinely thinks Fishdom is superior to Candy Crush doesn't deserve phone apps anyway."

"But it is though." Ni-Ki replies. "You can name your fishes and decorate your aquariums in Fishdom! All you do in Candy Crush is crush candies. Boring."

"Fishdom is a copy of Candy Crush like thousands of other games, the original is definitely the best! Proof being, it has copies!"

"Copies with creativity and cute designs." Ni-Ki replies. "That's called evolution. Candy Crush is the beta version to Fishdom's released game."

"You did not..." Sunghoon shakes his head. "I know you did not." He throws his hands in the air. "How do I have a crush on you, it makes no sense!"

Ni-Ki laughs it off. "Especially when Jake is right there."

"I know right!" Sunghoon agrees.

"Nothing makes sense. It's 2020." Ni-Ki says and shrugs.

"Whatcha lovebirds talking about?" Jake asks, returning to the dining area and taking a seat next to Ni-Ki. The two other share a glance and snort.

"You, actually." Ni-Ki informs and clasps a hand on Jake's shoulder. "We're both very glad you're here." He adds on before retrieving his tablet. "Now I gotta go because I have homeworks." He announces and stands. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Alright, sleep well and don't forget to brush your teeth!" Jake calls after him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ni-Ki replies without a glance back, merely holding a hand up in acknowledging for a second before disappearing in a large corridor.

"Fishdom or Candy Crush?" Sunghoon asks right away, narrowing his eyes at the australian boy.

"Huh... Candy Crush?" Jake replies, uncertain.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you from the start." Sunghoon says. "You never let me down." He adds on, holding out a hand and Jake instinctively meets him halfway, clasping their hands together.

"I actually think you are the one whose always had my back." Jake replies, smiling fondly. "Because honestly I was a mess before I got you and EJ."

"You weren't." Sunghoon replies. "You have a ton of raw talent and are literally the icon of improvement according to everyone." He grins. "That's all you."

Jake sighs softly, smile fading a little but growing fonder, coming easier. The kinds that's reflected more in the eyes. This was as natural as breathing. He'd missed it. Sunghoon too. The former ice skater realizes it now. It's always great when it's just the two of them. It feels easier to be, to feel. Jake unlocked something in Sunghoon when he decided to make a friend out of him.

Xx

Sunoo and Ni-Ki are sipping on flavored milks as they watch Jay make scrambled eggs. It's fairly quiet still, most members being asleep since there's no planned schedule. Jay is an early riser though. And Sunoo has taken the habit from him. Ni-Ki's awake because Sunoo has decided that he should be. And he doesn't know how to begrudge Sunoo but would definitely prefer to still be asleep.

It's still okay, all things considered, to exist in their company. He doesn't really know why he's been invited to the Sunjay morning ritual but he's there. And apparently that means watching Jay cooking while you do nothing. Eventually Sunoo speaks: "I'm worried."

"About?" Jay asks.

"My weight." Sunoo goes on.

"Why?" Ni-Ki questions, brows creasing. "We're all exercising for about 10 hours on a regular day. I don't think any of us is ever gonna be having weight issues."

Jay sighs softly, turning off the induction cooker before he turns to face the other two. "You don't, and I'm gonna stress this because apparently it still needs to be said, you do not look chubby. And you do not have to control what you eat."

"But..."

"No, no but." Jay says.

"He's right." Ni-Ki agrees. "You've got a cute round face and you're also still growing so why would you care now about what you eat? You power through and burn more energy than most regular people. Who made you believe it wasn't enough?"

"Nobody. I'm just not as athletic as you guys." Sunoo points out.

"Do you really wanna bulk up?" Jay asks, brows creasing with some disbelief.

"No, not really." Sunoo admits. "I don't know what I'd do with all the muscles."

"Yeah, you're our cute factor. We need your face to remain round and squishable." Ni-Ki agrees, reaching out to gently pinch Sunoo's cheek. Sunoo giggles. And Ni-Ki isn't certain what's happening there but Jay is nodding so he'll probably be invited to morning talks again. Hopefully. He doesn't hear Sunoo's worries often. But he's taken care of the other when he didn't feel okay. So he supposes this is the next level of trust. Telling why you're not okay, even when it might seem like you are.

Jungwon is the next person to enter the kitchen. He's bright and pretty. And very bubbly, humming along as he goes to side hug Jay. "Morning." He tells everyone, pressing his head against his hyung's shoulder. Jay ruffles his hair. Faux maknae or not, Jungwon is definitely the one with the most baby potential with those dimples on display and his eyes shut, contentment so clearly written on his face.

"Do I really have to call him hyung?" Ni-Ki whispers, head leaning towards Sunoo.

"Pfft." Sunoo chuckles, and that's apparently as much as a reply he's gonna offer.

Xx

Sunghoon and Sunoo are doing cartwheels. No, but there's a point. Well, it's stupid. But basically, they're having a competition. Sunoo might have suggested that he was the best at cartwheels to which, Sunghoon replied: "Please, I used to do them on ice." and apparently the way to decide which one is the best at it, is just to have them do cartwheels in the repetition room until one of them feels dizzy enough to give up. It's Jake's idea. But Heeseung hasn't opposed, so really, it's his fault. He's supposed to be the responsible one after all. Jungwon and Jay have self assigned themselves to catching either of the cartwheeler if they fall. It's bound to be interesting, whatever the outcome is.

"But," Ni-Ki furrows his brows. "I dont get how making them do cartwheels until one of them gives up or more likely passes out, is gonna be useful to decide who does them best." He says. Heeseung whose sitting on his left shrugs.And Jake, whose head is resting on Heeseung's shoulder just grins. "Ohhhh." Ni-Ki says softly. Yeah, this isn't supposed to help figure out who does the best cartwheels. _At all._

"Who do you think is gonna last the longest?" Jake asks. "I know I should say Sunghoon but honestly, Sunoo is really competitive and can do pretty great cartwheels."

"Yeah but talking purely muscle mass, it has to be Sunghoon." Heeseung remarks as the two cartwheelers pass them on their way to the other side of the room.

"I think both of them are just gonna stop around the same moment. Because if Sunoo hyung stops first, Sunghoon hyung is definitely gonna laugh at him, trip and fall. And same if Sunghoon hyung is the one to stop first." Ni-Ki points out.

"Ah right. They are, dorks." Heeseung says.

"I think half of the fun for them is riling up one another to be honest." Jake says. He turns towards the two cartwheelers. "I bet none of you can do a cartwheel on one hand!" He yells. Then turns back to Heeseung and Ni-Ki who have got their eyes narrowed at him. "What? I have to speed it up. We could be here for a long while otherwise."

"Ha! Easy!" Sunoo easily does executes a cartwheel on one hand.

So Sunghoon does one without both hands. "So easy." He agrees.

"Oh this is not gonna end well." Ni-Ki says, already getting on his feet as he sees the wheels turn in Sunoo's head. He can literally tell the moment his friend decides he's gonna attempt a cartwheel without the hands. Jay too apparently. Because he's underneath Sunoo when the other falls forwards, head first.

Sunghoon stops right away, worriedly looking back as Jungwon, Ni-Ki, Heeseung and Jake rush towards their friends. Sunoo rolls off of Jay, to lay on his back. "How many fingers do you see?" Heeseung asks right away, holding two up.

"I see five fingers held in a bunny formation." Sunoo replies. Jay gently smacks his forehead and Sunoo groans. "Not nice, I could have a concussion."

"And I an aneurysm." Jungwon says, running a hand through his hair as he let out a long exhale. Ni-Ki holds his hands out to help their friend sit up. Sunoo takes ahold of them and allows for their youngest member to drag him into a sitting position.

"I'm so sorry." Jake says. "This was a stupid idea."

He sounds so genuinely crestfallen that Sunoo feels compelled to say: "Nah, we're the stupid ones."

Sunghoon hums in agreement as he holds out a water bottle towards his friend. "We definitely are the stupid ones."

"Great, so when I say it, it gets ignored. But now you're aware of it?" Jay asks. "Lesson for next time: Listen to Jay hyung."

"Or just, don't do stupid things?" Heeseung offers.

"Please." Jay chuckles. "We're all gonna do plenty of stupid things in the future."

"Definitely." Ni-Ki agrees, with a couple of nods.

"Talking about doing stupid things," Jake starts.

"If this is in any way, shape, or form, somewhat, _a,_ " Sunghoon rolls his shoulder. " _a,_ " His left eye twitch. "a HoonKi reference, I will literally rip out your tongue, mince it and slowly feed it to a Venus Flytrap."

Jake's lips part in utter shock. "I..." He lets out a nervous laugh. "I forgot what I was gonna say."

"This was incredibly scary." Jay says softly.

"Yeah, we're not dating." Ni-Ki confirms. "So don't." He shakes his head. "No references. Thanks. Otherwise that happens." He says, gesturing at Sunghoon, who just shrugs. "We're bad with exteriorizing feelings."

"You don't say." Heeseung comments. "Anyway, glad we're all friends!" He loudly clasps his hands together. And refocuses his gaze on Sunoo. "Do you really feel okay?" He asks, voice instinctively growing fonder.

Sunoo nods. "I'm okay. The collision wasn't too bad, I swear." He easily gets back on his feet, executing some minimal dance moves.

Heeseung cups Sunoo's face in his hands, taking a good look at his face. "Alright, fine. But if at any point you start feeling dizzy or anything off, I want you to tell us and stop repeating right away." Sunoo silently nods. "Good." The hyung sighs. "Let's get into formation, kids."

Xx

"I hate this." Jungwon comments glaring at his phone screen. He's been trying to master Mario Kart Tour for a while now and he can't get anywhere.

"Me too." Ni-Ki says softly, glaring out the window and flinching every time thunder is heard. "How long is the rain supposed to last anyway?"

"You can actually use a controller if you play on iPad." Jake informs Jungwon before turning to Ni-Ki. "A couple of days, at worst." He comments before gently squeezing the other's knee. Leila doesn't like thunder much either. So he can tell when someone is worrying over it.

Ni-Ki sighs and let his head fall on Jake's shoulder. "It's a shame though. I really like rain."

"I know." Jake says softly, letting his head fall atop of Ni-Ki's. "You just don't like thunderstorms."

"I just don't like thunderstorms." Ni-Ki echoes.

"Why?" Sunoo asks, squeezing himself on the couch. "They're pretty." Jake reaches out for the popcorn bowl his friend is holding and gets his hand smacked away. "Go make your own." Sunoo says.

"There are too many people in the kitchen already." Jake comments. "I swear, you're gonna make four packs, is none of you actually planning to share?"

"Heeseung hyung always share with me." Jungwon says, grinning.

"Of course, with dimples like that life is a lot easier, ain't it?" Jake comments.

"Jay hyung loves to feed us. I bet he'll share." Ni-Ki extrapolates.

"He probably will. But he's making cheddar popcorn." Sunoo comments, with a certain glee. Ni-Ki and Jake scrunch up their nose. And Sunoo laughs.

"Gawi, bawi, bo?" Jake offers. Ni-Ki groans. They're really going to decide which one goes to make them popcorn by playing rock, paper, scissors.

"Only one hand." Ni-Ki warns, narrowing his eyes at Jake who nods. "Fine." He sits up and the two face each other. "Gawi, bawi, bo!" They both hold out paper.

"Museungbu." Jake says, grinning. "Gawi, bawi, bo!" Jake holds out the rock while Ni-Ki shows scissors. "Aha!"

"Two points." Ni-Ki begs.

And because Jake is nice he indulges. "Gawi, bawi, bo!" Another draw. "Gawi, bawi, bo!" And they both hold scissors. "Gawi, bawi, bo!" Ni-Ki holds out the paper while Jake shows rock.

"Aha!" The maknae comments.

"What are you playing for?" Jay asks, entering the living room with his smelly popcorn. Heeseung and Sunghoon are right behind him.

"Oh man." Jake sighs, leaning back in the couch. He glances towards Ni-Ki who groans, head falling forward. Apparently they're spending movie night without popcorn, judging by the way everyone is settling around and the light freshly turned off.

"Sunghoonahh," Jake starts.

"No." Sunghoon interrupts.

"I was just gonna ask what's the flavor of your popcorn, come on." Jake says, poking his friend's back with his socked foot.

"Sweet and salt." Sunghoon replies.

"I can work with sweet and salty." Jake says.

"Great. Go make some then." Sunghoon replies and Jake sticks his tongue out at the other's back.

The male then huddles back with Ni-Ki. "At least we will starve together." He dramatically says and whimpers softly.

"Like stray cats abandoned in a carton box on a snowy winter day." Ni-Ki goes on.

"I can hear the world's smallest violin playing for you guys." Sunoo says. "Literally just go in the kitchen.

"I can't. I'm a baby." Ni-Ki says.

"Oh, he did not." Heeseung says.

"Am I or am I not the maknae here?" Ni-Ki asks. "Isn't it, all of you hyungs' responsibility to take care of me?"

"Just for that, I will not share my popcorn." Jay says, shoving kernels in his mouth.

"Just start the movie." Sunghoon says, begrudgingly holding out his bowl of popcorn towards the two lazy boys perched on the couch.

"You're my favorite." Jake says before taking a large handful.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm perfect. We been knew." Sunghoon comments.

"And so modest." Ni-Ki says, reaching out. The bowl is held away from him. "So, so modest, the most modestest of us all." He corrects. Sunghoon doesn't budge.

"You really want popcorn, huh?" Sunoo comments. Ni-Ki eagerly nods. Sunoo holds out his own bowl. "And what am I?"

"The most bedazzling person I've ever met. The sun doesn't shine half as bright as you do." Ni-Ki says, taking a handful.

"Yeah, okay." Sunoo giggles. "You can get another serving later.

"Well played." Jake whispers to Ni-Ki who winks.

"What are we watching again?"

"Hocus Pocus." Jake announces.

"I've never seen it." Jungwon comments.

"Me neither." Jay admits. And okay, Jake might be a little shocked by that one admission but he won't say anything.

"Let's start then." Heeseung says, before pressing play.

About 7 minutes later, Ni-Ki's voice is heard, no matter how discreet he tries to be as he says: "Sunoo hyung, graced with the voice of an angel and a heart just as pure, can I have some more popcorn?" He gets some. He shares with Jake.

They're trying not to be too needy. Ni-Ki still has to ask for more about 15 minutes later: "Sunoo hyung, who the magic mirror on the wall would definitely pick as the fairest of them all, can I have some more popcorn?" Jake has to smother his laughter by pressing his head against Ni-Ki's shoulder.

Sunoo outright giggles, holding out the popcorn bowl. "I never knew sharing could be this rewarding." He comments before popping some kernels in his mouth.

Because he's getting embarrassed, Ni-Ki waits 21 minutes before asking for more popcorn. And half of his motivation comes from Jake nudging him because he needs a refill too. Sighing softly, Ni-Ki says: "Sunoo hyung, whose huh, the best, huh, yes!" He snaps his fingers. "Whose the best cartwheeler I've ever seen and who I admire the most can I—" A bowl of popcorn is pressed against his chest. It's not Sunoo's. Ni-Ki shoves his hand in it anyway.

"Just take the whole thing." Sunghoon grunts out and Ni-Ki shares a glance with Jake, considering it. They shrug to one another and Jake takes a proper hold of the bowl. It's a win.

 _Jay grins_. "Shut up." Sunghoon grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. His friend holds out his own bowl towards the dark haired male who just huffs and retrieves a couple kernels. Sunghoon can work with cheese.

Xx

"The fairest of them all, has arrived." Sunoo declares,waving in a semicircular motion with his arm to the room at large.

"Do you think Ni-Ki permanently spoiled him rotten?" Sunghoon asks Jay, over a bowl of cereals.

Jay shrugs before piercing a grape of his fruit salad with his fork. "I'll give him a day to bask in it. Then snap back to reality."

"Ope there goes gravity." Sunoo sang, taking a seat at the small circular table in the kitchen. "Ope there goes rabbit." He goes on, giving a pointed look to the other two.

Jay sighs but relents: "he choked, he's so mad but he won't give up that easy, no, he won't have it." He turns to Sunghoon.

"No, no, I'm not doing it." He replies before shamelessly shoving a spoonful of cereals and yogurt in his mouth.

"You're really not fun." Sunoo says and sighs before stabbing his chocolate flavored milk with a straw.

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let it, go." Jay sings a little, brows creasing. "You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo." He finishes. "That's actually so relevant to us, damn."

"Yeah." Sunoo sighs deeply. "This is it, our big break." He presses his head to the table, glad for the cold sensation against heated skin. "It's too early to start stressing already."

"Then don't." Sunghoon replies. "Come on, we're all trying our best and the public trusts us. We'll do great things. We have to."

Jay nods. "We have to." He echoes.

"What do we have to?" Jungwon asks, entering the kitchen.

"Reach 2 million followers of Twitter in a month." Sunghoon deadpans, making Jay pout.

Jungwon snorts, moving around to ruffle Jay's hair. "And take vitamins. And loose 0.5% of body fat. And dedicate more time to our singing. And get prettier. And also have a cleaner dorm."

"I can't believe I really said I would sing seven hours a day." Sunghoon runs a hand on his face. "What was I thinking?"

"Huh, literally: Gotta overdo everyone?" Jay offered. "Your competitive spirit is scary."

"It's what got me where I am though." Sunghoon replies.

"Fair enough." Jay says. "I respect the hustle. Except when it's stupid like a cartwheeling competition."

Sunoo and Sunghoon share an embarrassed glance. "How often are you gonna bring that up?" Sunoo asks.

"I don't know yet." Jay replies. "But I am certain that at some point you'll be tired of hearing me say: Remember the cartwheeling competition?"

Sunghoon stands. It's not nearly half as dramatic as expected. "I'm not storming off. I'm just, well, I'm done. So I'm taking this," He lifts his bowl up. "to the sink."

Xx

"Yeehaw!" Ni-Ki says, taking his dinosaur for a ride around their dressing room.

"Yeah, I think it's actually been a while since your mount actually yee'd its last haw." Jay comments, patting the dinosaur's head. "Guess the earth just wasn't big enough for him and the asteroid."

"Please tell me this isn't gonna turn into a cowboy talk fest." Heeseung begs, because he thinks he can't handle it. He needs rest, okay? A little normalcy in a sea of nonsense.

It's a monster of his own making. And he should've seen it coming, really, when Jake says: "Aye pardner," and puts a hand on his shoulder. "there's no point to bark at a knot. Just embrace the Wild West spirit."

To which, Jungwon unhelpfully adds on: "Yeehaw!" with far too much excitement to be anything but cute.

Heeseung is saved by their manager, who explains how the V-Live is supposed to go before announcing the order in which they're supposed to go out for their entrance.

Sunoo is sooo glad he's dressed as Vanellope upon seeing just how much Ni-Ki struggles to sit down with his inflatable dino costume. That's why, he really can't understand why Ni-Ki switches seats with him when the teams are announced. They're, literally, on the same team?? Why? Why go through all that trouble again? Sunghoon figures it out. Ni-Ki doesn't, want to go first. Not for a pronunciation game. He pats the other's back. This is fine. They're gonna win. Sunoo and Sunghoon have enough competitive spirit to ensure that victory is ahead.

_They win._

And the next game is announced and Ni-Ki is a lot less stressed. Because he listens to K-Pop. Like, actively. Which, all of them do. But it's a matter of confidence. And he's confident. Much like Sunghoon whose fairly certain it's in the bag because he's been teamed up with Sunoo and Ni-Ki who probably are the heaviest hitters when it comes to dance covers. Hanbin hyung excluded, but he sadly, isn't there. So Sunghoon leans back and lets the professionals do their stuffs.

_Yeah, no._

He becomes very vocal when it comes to revendications about whom raised their hands first. It's the competitive spirit talking okay? And he's certain Ni-Ki had it first. So Ni-Ki is gonna get it. And that's on that. We won't count that he's biased because HE WANTS TO WIN. He wins. Well, they win. Really it's all Sunoo and Ni-Ki. But he's been supportive and he gets high fives too so it's a collective win. Cheerleaders are like 50% of the players' victory anyway. Right? Right? VICTORY!

Ni-Ki is stressed again. And frankly it's a little concerning just how seriously he takes games. And that's coming from Sunghoon who lives for victories. But currently, Ni-Ki is genuinely holding onto Sunoo's wrist and Sunghoon's hand asking if they can feel his heartbeat pick up. Sunoo nods a few times, smiling fondly at their maknae before falling back into his MC role, looking into the camera as he explains the rule. So Ni-Ki brought Sunghoon's hand to his thigh, covering it with his own and gently rubbing against it like it's gonna exteriorize any of the worry.

There really was no need to worry. Sunghoon is the one who looses anyway. The blue team applauds their first victory. Ni-Ki is the first to beg for one more round. "Yeah, this could count as a double victory in terms of candy rewarded." Sunoo proposes.

"But you guys won all of them." Jungwon remarks.

"Ah right." Sunoo scratches his head.

"Then we could just play all the candies on this final game." Sunghoon adds. The competitive spirit strikes again.

He looses. Again.

MC Sunoo announces the blueberry team as ultimate winners.And all the candies are handed away. "Woah, woah." Jay says, mimicking to almost drop the candy filled pumpkin due to its heaviness. Heeseung, being a respectable hyung, shoves most of the sweet treats in the front pocket of his costume, the brightest grin on his features. Team cherry berry is left with each other for sole comfort as they watch the other team share their earned candies. Apologetic, Sunghoon pats Sunoo's shoulder before his arm settles around Ni-Ki as they watch, power and candy-less.

True pain comes from going to fetch a backpack entirely made out of treats and filled with more treats for the winning team. Obviously it's gonna be shared. But it definitely would taste just a little better had it been won.

Xx

So Sunghoon doesn't see as much of Ni-Ki as he used to. Which, on the bright side means he gets a lot more of Jayhoon time. But on the down side, he thinks he might be on Geometry Dash withdrawal.Ah yes, it's also not helping with the better friends thing. But then again, when did Ni-Ki and Sunghoon ever hang out just the two of them for the sake of it? Last time he attempted that, somewhat, it ended with a handshake and a discussion about feelings. Which, no thank you.

Then again, once the discussion has been had, it doesn't need to be had again. Had? Have? This is so confusing. How do you do the making friends thing? Do people genuinely go out of their way to just befriend others? Normally, people are just drawn to him, this isn't something he does willingly. Which might explain why he struggled so much to make friends, all things considered. Oh darn. He was rationalizing his emotions. K hyung definitely was a bad influence on happily emotionally repressed people. He had this unpleasant ability to make you open up? And worse, make you want to open up? That's not how any of this is supposed to go. Normal people don't just emote all over. Restraint is a quality when in society.

 _Yeah, in spite of all that reasoning happening in his head, Sunghoon is looking for Ni-Ki now. And mumbling to himself about how it's a terrible idea._

Ni-Ki is in the repetition room. Shocker. Heeseung is there too in a corner, watching him with a small grin on his face and headphones on.Some music sheets and a pencil are at his feet. So he's working on a partition then. Or was, before his attention shifted to the maknae who seemed to be dancing. Which no, he always dances. But this isn't a cover or a freestyle. This is some level of ballet.

Everything just is more angular, more precise. Sharp without being straight. It's fluid long glides followed by cheeky small jumping steps while the arms guide every movement. He twirls on himself like its as easy as breathing and Sunghoon stops breathing. Because it's incredibly familiar in the way he lowers his center to gently meet the ground as he ends. The ice rink is a friend he hasn't met in a while.

Heeseung applauds as Ni-Ki bows, laughing a little. And the dance prodigy bows again so Heeseung starts cheering, holding his hands above his head as his claps gain some vigor. And Ni-Ki laughs. It's low and quiet before it grows more nasal and abandoned. This is what he loves. Dancing, in whatever shape or form, is what he was born to do. The stage, is where he belongs. That kind of talent you share with the world.

Ni-Ki might be a talented young man, but he's also very much a kid, who will go from being absolutely graceful to sliding on the ground on his back to make his way to Heeseung. Sunghoon isn't certain is presence has registered yet, as he stands by the door. So he steps in before he decides to step out. "This was really cool." He says, tugging onto the sleeves of his sweater to allow for his hands to disappear.

Ni-Ki grins. "Thanks. I was just messing around. I probably made like twenty different mistakes during that routine. And my form was a little off."

"I couldn't see it." Heeseung remarks, trying to balance his pencil atop of the kid's head. "You did good."

"Thanks." He replies, lowering his head a little and sending the pencil to the ground.

"Sunghoonah, did you come to start your seven hours of daily singing?" Heeseung asks. "Because I'm halfway through my very humble hour and half so if you want, you can tag along."

Sunghoon groans, throwing his head backwards. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Well, now you promised the Engenes, so vroom vroom, start your motor and get going." Heeseung replies, grinning.

"Vroom vroom." Ni-Ki repeats, nose scrunching up as he starts laughing behind his hands. It's so stupid, why are they all so happy about it?

"How has Jake not made that joke already?" Sunghoon eventually questions, approaching the two and sitting criss crossed.

" I don't know, nan molla." Heeseung replies, lifting his shoulders in a fitting shrug.

"Oh no, not Fake Love." Sunghoon says.

"Why are you..." Ni-Ki's lips curl up in advance. "sick of this fake love?" He finishes, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Fake Love." Heeseung echoes, leaning towards Sunghoon.

"Fake Love." Ni-Ki continues, leaning towards his hyung as well.

Sunghoon covers his eyes with his thumb and index, sighing before he starts singing as well, albeit reluctantly: "I'm so sorry but it's fake love."

"Fake Love." Heeseung continues, getting so close that his nose pokes Sunghoon's cheek.

"Fake Love." Ni-Ki goes on, right hand on his heart while the left one reaches out to the other two that are just a little out of reach.

Maybe this wasn't exactly what Sunghoon had in mind when he thought about hanging out with Ni-Ki. But hey, this was good too.

**Author's Note:**

> As much of a Hoonki trash as I am, I also am a fervent advocate for friendship. Which is all I wish for all the members. And I think that even for us, regular people, friendship is important, no matter the bond you wanna form ultimately.
> 
> ps: I have never seen Hocus Pocus 🙈


End file.
